The grammaticalization of evidentiality in English

Eric Mélac (1)

1 EMMA - Etudes montpelliéraines du monde anglophone

This article argues that the data on English evidential markers indicate that evidentiality is not a grammatical category which is only applicable to some languages, but can be considered a universal semantic function that tends to trigger the grammaticalization of lexical forms. This study investigates five criteria that can help us locate linguistic forms on the lexicon–grammar continuum: reduction, desemanticization, backgrounding, decategorialization and paradigmatization. Although it has not reached the full maturity of so-called ‘evidential languages’, English provides evidence of the grammaticalization of evidentiality. Evidentiality is thus a relevant notion for English which substantially impacts the organization of the lexicon of the language, and the evolution of its grammar.

Mots clés: evidentiality; grammaticalization; english; modals; parentheticals; perception verbs

Domaines: Sciences cognitives; Linguistique

Eric Mélac. The grammaticalization of evidentiality in English. English Language and Linguistics, 2022, 26 (2), pp.331-359. ⟨10.1017/S1360674321000101⟩. ⟨hal-03940626⟩